Coin-controlled vending-machine



W. 6. WILSON.

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE. APPUCATNIN mm m. 1. I915.

1,340,174. Patented May 18, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET ig y 2 (2 h a lllllllllllllgllglllllplllll /Q A WylieGamma? Wilson.

W. G. WILSON.

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FILE. 7, I916.

4!; ATTORNEYJ W. 6. WILSON. com cornnouso VENDING MACHINE.

A FPLICATFON FRED FEB- T, I9I6.

Patenmd May 18, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3- nwnv r00 wil'sorz.

44,; Arm/Mrs w. G. WILSON.

com commoner) venom: mcumg.

1,340,174. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1, 1.91.5, 18,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

F m C w INVENTOR Gamma? lUr'Zsore 4.. Anon/vim 7// /d fl WYLIE GEMMELWILSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed February 7, 1916. Serial No. 76,526.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I WYLIE GEMMEL WIL- SON, asubject of the king of Great Britain, and resident of New York cit inthe county of New York and State of ew York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Coin Controlled Vending Machines, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention is a coin-controlled vending machine, particularlyadapted for vending candy, chewing gum, etc., and amon the novelfeatures embodied in the machine may be mentioned the following:mechanism wherein the vending operation is effected without theintervention of coinactuated levers, latches, or similar devices; thatis to say, the coin has an unobstructed path of travel through themachine to its controlling point, the operation of the machine beingindependent of the wei ht or momentum of the coin; means where y theinsertion of a coin in the machine is precluded when all the vendablearticles have been dispensed; improved devices for precluding theoperation of the vending mechanism save when a coin of standarddimensions is inserted, a coin of lesser thickness or diameter,under-weight, or of spurious metal being ineffective; an improveddispensin barrel to which the articles to be vende are delivered by onlyadvance movement, thereby entirely obviating any reciprocating movementof the articles to be vended with consequent preclusion of abrasion ofthe articles or their wrappers; and improved means whereby coins towhich strings, wires, or similar devices are attached, are precludedfrom operating the vending mechanism.

The assembled mechanisms are exceedingl simple and compact, and containa minlmum number of parts which are, in the preferred form of theinvention, all operated from a single shaft; they can be manufacturedwith great economy, no delicate adjustment is necessary, nor are any ofthe parts liable to get out of order.

Features of the invention, other than those specified, as well as thefunctions and advantages thereof, will a pear from the hereinafterdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying draw-,in s.

illustrated different practical embodiments of the invention, but theconstructions shown therein are to be understood as illustrative, only,and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a vending machine embod in the presentinventionv Fig. 2 is a si e e evation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the machine, taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 4.

F Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4=4 of ig. 5 is a transverse sectionon line 55 of Flg. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are transverse horizontal sections on lines 77, 88, and99, respectively, of Fig. 3.

Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 are fragmental sections taken on lines 10 10,1111, 1212, and 1313, respectively, of Fig. 3.

Fig. 14 is a fragmmtal section, taken substantially in the plane of line4'-4 of Fig. 3, through a slightly modified form of dispensingmechanlsm, and

F1 15 is another fragmental section showing a slightly modified form ofconstruction which might be substituted for certain parts shown mostclearly in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a casing, which may be of anyapproved form, shape, or material, the interior of which casing isdivided, by a transverse partition a, into a front and rear chamber, thelatter of which is designated in the drawin s by the reference numeralB. The front 0 amber is divided again by a vertical artition a into twochambers, c and c. artition a is substantially parallel to the back ofthe casing for the greater portion of its extent, but is flaredforwardly in the lower portion of the casing to abut the front wallthereof, shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 6. Chamber B, therefore, isrelatively shallow throu hont the greater portion of its extent, fiutnear the bottom of the casing it widens out to embody the full depth ofsaid casing. The shallowest portion of chamber B is preferably equal indepth to the thickness of a coin, and a coin inserted in said chamber,throu h a coin slot 7) in the upper portion thereo is adapted to traveldownwardly throu h the chamber in a circuitous path, and fal into a trayor coin receptacle positioned on the floor of the casing and interiorthereof. The ath of the coin through chamber 13 Will be hereinafterspecifically described.

Extending transversely of the casing, and throu h chambers c and 0'thereof, is a shaft d which extends beyond one wall of the casing and isprovided with a suitable handwheel or finger-piece d, by means of whichthe shaft may be manually rotated. Extending throughout the width ofchamber 0, and fixed on, or integral with, shaft d, is a rotary barrelD, and above barrel D, and arranged in a tier, are adapted to bepositioned the bars of candy, chewing gum, or other articles, E, whichare to be dispensed. Bars E are superimposed one upon the other inchamber 0, so that said bars are supported by rotary barrel D, thelowest bar engaging with the periphery of the barrel.

T 0 allow of free access to chamber (2 for the purpose of replenishingthe supply of bars E therein, as the same are successively dispensed ina manner hereinafter to be described, casing A is provided with a door Awhich, when opened, exposes substantially the upper half of the forwardcham bers of the casing. The operation of this door is clearly shown inFig. 2, wherein its open position is shown in dot-and-dash lines, andits closed position 1n full lines. When the door is open, thebars ofcandy may be readily inserted into chamber 0, and are guided into propervertical alinement by vertical guides 0 shown in Fig. 3.

Rotary barrel D is provided with a longitudinally extending pocket D,which pocket is shaped to conform to the contour of the bars E which themachine is to dispense. Accordingly, as shaft (l is rotated by means ofhand-wheel d, barrel D is simultaneously actuated to bring pocket D intojuxtaposition, or into alinement, with the superimposed bars E. Whenthis has been accomplished, the weight of said bars will cause thelowermost bar to gravitate into a position interior of pocket D. Afurther rotation of barrel D will carry said bar around with it untilthe pocket has been substantially inverted whereupon said bar will bedumped out of the pocket and fall upon the flared portion of partitiona. The front of the casing is provided with a hand-hole e, through whichthe hand of the operator may be inserted to withdraw the cand deliveredas described.

It wil of course, be understood that, as one bar of candy falls intopocket D, and the barrel is turned, the remaining bars will be supportedupon the periphery of the barrel, and I have found it very desirable to'so organize the parts that, in the successive delivery of the .bars, theremaining bars, or their wrappers, will not be subjected to excess wear.Experimentation has shown that, if the pocket in barrel D is soositioned relative to the axis of rotation t ereof that the candy, whenin position within the pocket, will entirely fill said pocket, theexposed face of the candy will form a continuation of the peripheralcontour of the barrel. In other words, the exposed surface of a bar ofcandy, when in position within the pocket, will form a substantialcontinuation of the c lindrical surface of the barrel, so that, w ienthe barrel is rotated, the bars of candy superimposed thereon will notbe given any longitudinal movement or reciprocation, as would be thecase if the exposed face of a candy bar in the pocket were below thesurface of the periphery of the barrel. This arrangement obviates allreciprocating or lifting movement of the bars of candy during thedispensing operation, and thereby obviates the wearing action whichwould otherwise occur on the wrappers or the bars themselves.

It will thus be apparent that, in dis-' pensing the bars superimposedupon the ro tary barrel, the mere act of rotating said barrel willautomaticall cause the barrel to receive a charge, an subsequentlydischarge the same into a position accessible to the operator. Forreasons hereinafter obvious, however, it is desirable that the barrel beadapted for rotation in a predetermined direction, only, and,accordingly, a ratchet wheel F is fixed on shaft d, and with itcooperates a pawl 7, details of'which are shown in Fig. 11, whicheffectually precludes the rotation of the shaft in a counterdirection.

The foregoing manner of dispensing the candy bars E is that of thenormal operation of the machine, but. according to this invention, thedispensation of the candy is coin-controlled. That is to say, mechanismis provided which precludes the operation of the dispensing mechanismdescribed unless a bona fide coin of predetermined dimensions has beendeposited in the machine. This mechanism, which we may term the lockingmechanism, is shown in detail in Fig. 10, and on a smaller scale inFigs. 3 and 6. It embodies a cam G which is fixed on shaft d, and withwhich cooperates a pivoted pawl 9. Cam G is provided with a stop g, anda portion of pawl g is adapted to normally ride upon the face of thecam, being held by gravity in engagement therewith. The free end or noseof pawl g extends through an aperture in partition a, and protrudes intocham er B as shown in Figs. 6 and 10.

In the mechanism as thus far described, the fact that pawl g normallrides u on the face of cam G will cause t e cam, a ter it has beenturned very slightly from the osition in which it is shown in full linesin Fig. 10, to bring its stop g into engage- 130 ment with pawl g, asshown in dotted lines in said fi re. Such engagement will lock the camagamst further movement in its operating direction and preclude thefurther rotation of the shaft d necessary to dispense one of the bars E.The dispensing mechanism is thus normally locked against operationunless a coin has been previously inserted in the machine in the mannernext to be described. The insertion of a coin in the machine has thesole function of cooperating with the pawl to preclude the same fromfollowing the face of the cam and coming into engagement with stop g.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 5, which shows a transversesection through coin chamber B, b is a coin slot through which the coingains entrance to the interior of the casing. Positioned interior of thecasing, and immediatel in front of the coin slot, 1s an incline H, ownwhich the coin, which may be generally designated by w, is adapted toroll. I indicates a magnet which is fixed in position, and the lower endof which is bent to form an incline u on which coin as, after leavingincline H, fa ls and, in turn, rolls down said incline. If the coin isbona fide, the momentum gained by its rolling down the incline of themagnet will cause it to jump free of the end of the magnet, and,describing an arc, fall upon a ledge J fixed in chamber B. The coin isimmediately brought to rest by means of a disk K, which disk is fixed onshaft d and a portion of which projects, through an aperture inpartition 0,, into the path of the coin, all as clearly shown in Fig. 5.The coin is thus wedged in place between ledlge J and the projectingportion of disk until such time as said disk is rotated sufiiciently tobring the cut-away portion 7: of said disk into juxtaposition with thecoin, whereupon the coin is allowed to gravitate into a tra b.

t is the position of the coin as shown in full lines in Fig. 5 whichcontrols the locking means hereinbefore described, since it will benoted, from said figure, that, when the coin is in the position shown,it is ositioned beneath the portion of pawl q w ich projects intochamber B. Thus, if the awl should descend but very little, it woulengage the periphery of the coin, and further downward movement of itsprojecting end would be arrested.

The position of the parts at the time of insertion of a coin is shown inFig. 6, and it will be noted that one of the high points of cam G atsuch time is maintaining the pawl in an elevated position so that, ifthe cam is turned while the pawl is held in such elevated position, thedepending portion of said pawl will clear the stop 9', i. (2., will notengage the same when the cam is rotated as described. The coin, when inthe position shown in full lines in Fig. 5, operates to serve thispurpose; that is to say, it engages the pawl after the cam has beenslightly shifted and precludes further gravitation of the awl, therebymaintaining it in substantial y the elevated position shown. Ifhandwheel (1' is turned to rotate shaft d, pawl 9 will be held up highenough, by the coin, to clear the stop 9 of the cam and thus notinterfere with such rotation, and a bar of candy may be dispensed asdescribed. To summarize, it will be clear that the dispensing of thebars E is controlled by the coin, in that, unless the coin is in aposition to maintain pawl g in its elevated position, said pawl willgravitate into engagement with the stop of the cam, and the machine willbe rendered inoperative. However, if the coin is in the proper position,it will maintain the pawl elevated until such time as the stop g of thecam has been advanced be 0nd the engaging portion of the pawl, an atthis tune, the cut-away portion In of disk K will come intojuxtaposltion with the coin and thereby free the same and allow it todrop into tray 11', as described.

It is very essential, in coin-handling machines, to provide means fordetecting and sorting out spurious coins, and the present machine is soorganized that only bona fide coins will operate to render thedispensing mechanism operative. The machine of this invention may embodymeans for detecting and rejecting coins other than standard, such ascoins of lesser thickness or diameter, under-weight, or of spuriousmetal. While all of these recautionary devices need not be included 1nthe machine, such as are desired may be employed, but all are shown inthe preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings.

In the first place, the 'coin slot is of such size as to preclude theentrance of a coin of greater diameter or thickness than the standard;that is tosay, a coin which would clog the machine if it were insertedtherein. Should a coin of iron or other magnetic material be inserted inthe machine, even though it be of proper size, the same would beattracted by the magnet to such extent as to preclude said coin fromjumping the space intermediate the end of the magnet and ledge J. Inpractice, the magnetic attraction for iron coins is generally such aswill cause the coin to follow around the -lower end of the magnet into aposition magnet, but will fall through the cut-away portion thereof intothe tray. Various ty es of magnet may, however, be employe e. 9., themagnet may, if desired, be channeled longitudinally so as to exert amore powerful influence on metallic coins or slugs which have a bevelededge.

If a coin of proper dimensions and of unmagnetic material, but ofunder-weight, be inserted in the machine, it will properly roll downincline H and that of magnet I, and will commence the jump from the endof the magnet to ledge J. However, in the path of travel of the coinfrom the magnet to the ledge, is the free end of a depending, pivotedlatched L which is normally held by gravity in the position shown infull lines in ig. 5. The latch is so shaped and is of such weight thatit will not seriously impede a coin of standard weight, which standardcoin will simply knock the latch back into the dotted line osition andproceed upon its way to the le ge. However, if a coin of under-weightstrikes the latch, the inertia will be insufficient to shift the same,and the coin will rebound, and, instead of landing on ledge J, will falldirectly into the tray. A stop I on latch L serves to determine thecorrect positioninto which said latch normally gravitates.

As it is absolutely essential for the coin to assume the position shownin full lines in Fig. 5, in order to operate the machine, the foregoingmechanisms for interrupting the travel of spurious coins to suchposition, will adequately render the machine proof against coins otherthan bona fide.

It may be possible for a coin of a diameter under the standard to reachthe ledge J, but such coin will not come to rest in operative positionon said ledge, since only standard coins are sufliciently large tosimultaneously engage the ledge and the face of disk K. Smaller coinswill, therefore, fall through the opening between the ledge and disk andwill not serve to condition the machine for operation.

In Fig. 12 I have shown in detail an efficient means for precluding theinsertion of a coin in the machine when the vendible articles havebecome exhausted. In said figure, m designates a rock shaft whichextends transversely of the casing and throughout the entire widththereof. On shaft m is fixed a bell-crank lever M, the lower end ofwhich is adaited to engage a cam M mounted on shaft 0, and be actuatedthereby, against the tension of a leaf-spring m, when shaft cl isrotated. The upwardly extending arm of bell-crank M coo erates with alever N pivoted as at n. e depending arm of lever N is gouged out tohouse the upper end of bell-crank M, and the upper arm of lever N is inthe form of a finger 11' adapted, when lever N is rotated pocket D in acounter-clockwise direction, to move through an aperture in partition a,and across the interior of coin slot b. When in the gpsition described,finger n will serve as a aflie to preclude the passage of a coin throughthe coin slot.

Fixed on rock shaft m, and depending therefrom, is a controllin apronwe", so shaped that its free end wil normally enga e with the face ofthe lowermost candy bar as shown in Fig. 12. The 0 eration of thismechanism may be briefly escribed as follows. At every rotation of shaft01 to dispense a bar of candy, cam M engages with bell-crank M, therebyoscillating the same in a counter-clockwise direction against thetension of spring m, and apron m being secured to the rock shaft, willsimultaneously be retracted from engagement with the lowermost candy barand release the same, so that it will freely gravitate into of therotary barrel, which has een rotated to a position to receive it. Thelowermost candy bar descends into the pocket, and the next bar abovetakes its place, so that, in the normal operation of the device, aftercam M has released bellcrank M, apron m will be returned to its initialposition against the candy bar E'under the tension of spring 112.. Theparts are so associated that apron m will engage the candy bar beforebell-crank M engages the actuating arm of lever N, and, accordingly,said latter lever will remain idle, being held in its normallyinoperative position b its heavier or weighted depending arm. owever, ifthe last candy has been dispensed, there will be no candy bar E withwhich the apron may engage, and spring m will thus force belLcrank Mbeyond its initial position and into engagement with the depending armof lever N. B so doing, it will tilt said lever to bring nger n acrossthe coin slot and preclude the further insertion of coins until themagazine is again recharged and a candy bar E brought into position toretract bell-crank M, whereupon lever N will gravitate to its idleposition.

It is common practice, particularly among small boys, to beatcoin-controlled vending machines by means of a bona fide coin secured toa string, thread, wire, or other leash, the practice being to insert thecoin in the machine and allow the same to pass therethrough suflicientlyto operate the release mechanism and allow the articles in the machineto be released. The coin is then withdrawn by pulling on the string, andthe operation repeated. In this way, some machines may be caused todispense their entire charge successively without accumulating the coinsin payment thereof. The present invention, however, embodies means forprecluding this beating of coin-controlled machines in a simple andefficient manner,

the mechanism for accomplishing this result being termed thestring-cuttin mechanism, because of the fact that it is a apted, whenactuated, to cut any strings, thread or other leash, from which a coinmay be depended. Thus, if a bona fide coin is inserted in the machine,such mechanism will, on the actuation of the dispensing mechanism, cutthe string and cause the coin to be deposited in the tray, so that itcannot be withdraw again, as has been the practice.

The string-cutting mechanism is shown in enlarged detail in ig. 13, andits relation the remaining parts of the machine is s own in Figs. 3 and6. It embodies a lever O loosely mounted for pivotal movement on a shaftm, one arm of which lever coo crates with a cam O fixed on shaft d, anthe other arm of which lever carries a cutter member or hatchet 0. Theparts are so associated that hatchet o is adapted to be passed throughan aperture in partition a and across the opening or coin slot 1) of thecasing. A spring 0' serves to normally retract the hatchet out ofjuxtaposition with coin slot 6, so as not to interfere with theinsertion of a' coin therethrough. In retracting cutter member 0 asdescribed, spring 0 simultaneously serves to maintain the depending armof lever O in operative engagement with the vface of cam O he operationof the parts is such that, when hand-wheel d is actuated to dispense thecandy bars, the rotation thereof actuates cam O, with the result thatlever O is oscillated to bring the cutter across the coin slot. Thus, ifa coin with a string attached thereto is in place in the machine, suchmovement of the hatchet or cutter 0 will part the string and allow thecoin to drop into the tray. Moreover, if the string 18 attached toa'coin, it will not acquire sufficient momentum in slidingldown theincline of magnet I, to jump t e gap between the end of the magnet andledge J. Said coin will, therefore, dro between these parts, so that,when the string is cut it will all into the tray, clear of ledge .I. Themechanism will not, therefore, be rendered operative, and, even thoughthe coin be bona fide, the party insertin the same will lose the coinwithout bein a Is to dispense its worth of vcndible artic es.

It will be understood, also, that, if desired, cam 0 may be so formedthat the hatchet will be held across the coin slot during the completedispensing operation. This will preclude the insertion of a coin untilthe previously deposited coin has been lodged in the coin tray, 2'. e.removed from the position wherein it would render the subsequent coinineffective.

The mechanisms hereinbefore described are so coordinated that theirconjoint operation may be briefly described as follows. The

to dispense the candy bar rotation of said barrel, cam O operates tocoin, being inserted into slot b,rolls along incline H and drops oil theend of magnet I. If the coin is bona fide, it rollsofl? the end of themagnet, jum s across the intervening space onto ledge 3, into theposition shown at m in full lines in Fig. 5. The coin now rests betweenled e J and the projecting portion of disk of'shaft d, and in sucposition serves to hold pawl g in elevated position. The operator nowturns handle d, thereby rotating the, shaft and barrel D E. During theforce hatchet 0 across the coin slot and cut the string, if such therebe in the machine. When the barrel has turned to a point to receive thecandy in pocekt D, cam M has moved to a position to retract apron mthereb releasing the lowermost cand bar and a1 owin the same to bedeposited in the pocket, an at about the same time, the flat side is ofdisk K comes into juxtaposition with the coin m. The coin is thusallowed to dro into the tray, and the further rotation of t e barrelwill cause the candy to be released from the pocket and drop into anaccessible position within hand-hole e. The coin having dropped into thetray from its operative position on ledge J, any fur ther rotation ofthe handle will be arrested by stop 9 of cam G coming into engagementwith pawl g.

For the proper operation of the machine, it is desirable that, at thetime of insertion ofa coin, pawl g will rest on a high part of cam G, asshown in Fig. 10. If, however, the handle has been turned beyond thisposition, it will be essential to return the parts to position beforethe coin can properly operate the machine. This will normally beaccomplished automatically by spring 0', but, even though the spring beout of order,

' the insertion of a coin automatically accomplishes the desired result,since, unless the parts are in the position described, the hatchet 0will be slightly advanced over the coin slot, and the insertion of acoin will force the, hatchet to its normally fully retracted position.In so doing, cam 0' will be reversed sufiiciently to bring the hi hportion of cam G under pawl g.

H vo allow of this small degree of backward movement of shaft d, ratchetwheel F which normally precludes rotation of said shaft in acounter-direction, is rovided with an untoothed see Fig.

portion f and ratchet whee F is so mounted on shaft (1 as to allow ofthe reverse movement of the shaft and cam G, from a position whereinpawl g engages with stop g to a position wherein sai pawl will rideonthe hi h part of the cam, as shown in Fig. 10. T us, even though theparts are left in a slightly advanced position after one of the candybars E has been dispensed, the

subsequent insertion of a coin will retract the position of the parts tonormal to allow of the proper operation of the machine in dislpenslngthe next bar.

11 Fig. 15 I have illustrated a slightly modified form of mechanismwhich may be employed in lieu of disk K for releasing the coin from itsoperative position and allowing the same to drop into the tray. In thismodified form of releasing mechanism, disk K is omitted from shaft (5,and in lieu thereof, and in the same position on said shaft, is mounteda cam P which serves to operate a pivoted pawl p, the free end of whichextends through an aperture in partition a, much after the manner inwhich a portion of disk K extends in the other form of mechanism, asshown in Fig. 5. The operation of the parts is the same in the modifiedform, with the exception that, when shaft d is rotated, instead ofbringing the cut-away portion is of the disk into juxtaposition with thecoin to allow of its 1 release, cam P lifts pawl p, thereby releasingthe coin.

As hereinbefore described, the front of the casing is provided with adoor A pivoted on a horizontal axis, which door is normally locked inclosed position by a lock a,but may be opened to allow of the insertionof candy bars in the magazine. Door A, in the form shown, not onlyserves to close the front of the casing, but it is provided with arearward extension an at its top, so as to simultaneously close the topof the casing. In order that the money tray 6 may be normally lockedwithin the casing, but may be withdrawn at the proper times by the moneycollector, a small trapdoor Q, shown best in Figs. 3 and 5, is provided,and, in the specific mechanism shown, this door is locked by meanscontrolled by the upper door A. The means for accomplishing this end isillustrated in the form of a vertical locking bolt 51, which is mountedin fixed guides g within the casing and is adapted for u and down,vertical, sliding movement. 11 door Q, and near its free end, is akeeper g through which bolt 9 may pass for the purpose of locking thedoor in its closed position. Locking bolt 9 is shown as equal in lengthto the interior height of casin A, and, accordingly, in order to closeoor A, bolt 9 must be in its depressed position, and, when said door isclosed, the bolt in question cannot be elevated until the door is againopened. This places the operation of the bolt within the control of doorA, so that, when said door is open, bolt 9 may be elevated to disengagethe keeper of trap door Q and allow the same to be opened and money trayI) removed. Thus, when the collector makes his rounds and opens door Ato recharge the magazine, he may reach into the casing and elevatelocking bolt g, thereby allowing of free access to the money tray. Aftertrap-door Q, has been closed again, the magazine filled, and bolt 9 depressed, upper door A may be closed and locked, at which time both doorswill be secured against opening by unauthorized persons.

In Figs. 3 and 4, tray 5 is shown as provided with a handle in the formof a leaf spring 6 which spring, when door Q is closed, is undertension. Thus, when bolt 9 is retracted, said spring automaticallyserves to open the door. The hand of the collector may then be insertedthrough the doorway and the tray withdrawn by its handle b.

The foregoing method of locking the doors of the casing is that which Iprefer to employ, although it will be apparent that, should it beinexpedient for one person to have charge of both the filling of themagazine and the collectin of the money, each door may be separate ylocked by suitable locking means, independently of the other, so thatthe person who makes the collections will not have access to themagazine, or the filler of the magazine will not have access to themoney.

The abutment b on the back plate, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, causes thecoins to fall into the tray and not beyond the edge thereof. Moreover,said abutment serves to ide the coins into the tray in such manner thatthey fall fiat into the tray. The number of coins which a relativelysmall size tray may contain is thus materially increased.

In Fig. 14 of the drawings is shown a slightly modified form ofmechanism adapted to dispense cylindrical bars of candy or otherarticles. tary barrel D is herein shown as provided with a cylindricalpocket to conform to the shape of the bars to be dispensed, and saidbars, when dispensed, instead of falling down an incline as in thepreferred form of casing, fall directly upon the floor of the casing.The opposite side walls are provided with alined apertures r, so thatthe finger of the operator may be inserted through the aperture in onewall to push the candy out of the aperture in the opposite wall. It willbe noted that the pocket is eccentrically positioned relative to theaxis of rotation of the barrel, 2'. 6-, it is not co-axial therewith.The candy, when in place, thus serves to complete the true cylindricalperiphery of the barrel, thereby practically eliminating the raisingl ofthe contents of the magazine during 1; e dispensing operation.

In this embodiment, moreover, a slightly modified form of means is shownfor premachine.

cludin the operation of the rotary barrel when 51c supply of vendiblearticles is exhausted. In lieu of the de ending apron m, an upstandingapron g is employed, which a ron is pivoted on a shaft 8.

It wil be manifest, from the foregoing description, that the machine ofthis invention embodies many marked advantages over prior art devices.One of these improvements resides in the fact that the coin, in its pathto the appointed place in the machine is not required to move a largenumber of levers or latches, as has heretofore frequently been the case,but operates a single latch, so that it is comparatively free to moveinto operative position. The reason why this is desirable andadvantageous is that it greatly reduces the possibility of a coin whichdoes not roll with normal rapidity, due to imperfect shape of the coin,or dirty or dusty condition of the coin path, not operating the Amachine which depends upon the weight of a coin or the momentum of acoin to operate unlocking devices, frequently becomes sli htly clo gedwith dust, and even a bona fi e coin, w ich is slightly disfi red, mayengage such mechanism whic permits of the vending machine to operateand, owing'to the conditions referred to, is unable to operate it.Perfectly ood coins will sometimes clog a machine of the type referredto, so that the machine is rendered ino rative, and further coinsdropped therein slmply accumulate in the coin path and are lost to theoperator. According to the present invention, the coin does nothingexcept lie in a particular place, and the unlocking of the machine andits operation are entirely manual, the coin being stationary during thedispensing operation.

It will be further manifest that the machine is extremely positive inits operation and embodies an astonishingl small number of workin parts,many of which work ing parts mi t be omitted without rendering the macine inoperative. This is articularly true of the precautionary devlces,such as the coin-slot baflle and the hatchet or string-cuttingmechanism, either one of which mi ht be dispensed with if the recautionsw ich they serve are not desired? One of the most important advantagesof this invention, from a commercial standpoint, is the fact that themechanism of the invention does not embody delicate 'ad'ustments, as arecommonl necessary. hese mechanisms in the mac ines in general use areconstantly out of order, and this is particularly true in cases whereprior art machines embody two distinct mechanisms, one of which iscoin-operated to set certain devices which coiiperate with dispensingmechanism, the combined operations of the two sets of mechanism servingto condition the machine to dispense the article. In machines of thischaracter, the mechanism must be very sensitive, whereas, in the machineof the present invention, sensitiveness and delicate adjustments of theparts are unessential. The machine of this invention is, therefore, nota t to et out of order, and, moreover, by dispensing with these devices,a machine is produced which is extremely compact, sim lo and reliable,These features render t e machine of the resent invention particularlyapplicable or use in theaters, playhouses, or other places of amusement,w erein a machine must be small, compact and reliable, although theinvention is, manifestly, not re stricted to such environment.

A further advantage gained by the invention is the precluding of wearupon the candy bars or their wrappers, which is accomplished by soforming the rotary barrel that no rising movement is transmitted to thebars of candy in the magazine, said bars partaking of only one movement,an advancin or falling movement as they are successlvely fed to thepocket of the rotary barrel.

The present invention embodies many improvements over prior art devices,some of which might be availed of in the construction of vendingmachines without necessarily employing all. Moreover, the mechanisms, ortheir different parts, are susceptible to slight changes in adaptingthem to various environments, or to the dispensa tion of diflerentarticles. The resent invention is, therefore, to be un erstood as notlimited to the specific showing herein made but is to be understood tobe as broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims. 4

. aving thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to se-v cure by Letters Patent, is:

1'. A vendin machine of the class described, embo ying a magazine, arotary barrel cooperating therewith for receiving and dispensingarticles from the ma azine individually, a cam coiiperating wit saidbarrel and provided with a shoulder, a pivoted pawl normally inengagement with a high point of the cam and coin-controlled means forholding the pivoted pawl in released position and subsequentlypermitting it to assume its locked position.

2. A vending machine of the class described embodying a magazine, arotary barrel cooperating therewith for receiving and dispensing-thearticles from the magazine, a cam coiiperatin with said barrel andprovided with a s oulder, a pivoted pawl normally in engagement with ahigh int of the cam, means for guiding a coin into engagement with thepawl to maintain said pawl in its elevated position and out of the pathof the shoulder of the cam to allow ofthe rotation of the barrel, andmeans also cooperating with the rotary barrel for releasin the coinafter the shoulder has been rotate to a position beyond the pawl.

3. A vendin machine of the class described embodylng a rotary barrelcooperating therewith for receiving and dispensing articles from themagazine individually, an operating stem on said rotary barrel, a handleon said stem for rotating the barrel, a cqin race, a cam mounted on thestem of the barrel and provided with a shoulder, a pivoted pawl normallyin engagement with a high oint of the cam and with the portion of saidpawl projecting into the coin race,

'ing the dispensing of a su and a member mounted on the stem of thebarrel and also normally projecting into the coin race for arresting acoin in a position to underlie the pivoted pawl, whereb the pawl is heldfree from engagement with the shoulder on the cam to permit of rotationof the barrel, said member being adapted to release a coin after theshoulder has passed the pawl for the pur ose of precludsequent articleuntil another coin is inserted in the machine. Signed by me at New Yorkcity, N. Y., this 3rd day of Februar 1916.

WYLIE GE MEL WILSON. Witnesses:

ANNA F. DAVIDSON, FRANK S. MOORE.

